You haven’t had a good potato chip until you’ve had a homemade potato chip…better yet, one fried in healthy oil! If you struggle with staying away from those bags of potato chips at the store, I feel you. But, they’re actually very simple to make from scratch, and you’ll taste the difference! You can feel good about steering clear of the processed oils and ingredients in store-bought chips with this recipe.
Homemade Potato Chips
These healthy homemade potato chips are slices of heaven. They’re bites of salty, crunchy, and real food goodness using only 3 ingredients. Ours stay crisp for at least 2 weeks in vacuum-sealed jars! Just make sure your chips are completely cooled before storing them. If you’re looking for even longer-term storage, you can use mylar bags with a silica gel pack to keep them fresh for about a year!
Choosing Your Frying Oil
The qualities of a good frying oil include high smoke point, stability, neutral flavor, and cost. We also take into account its healthiness in our household. For more in-depth information on the healthiest oils to fry with, check out this blog post.
Our four recommended oils include:
Beef Tallow- This is my favorite frying oil and the one we use in this recipe. We get beef suet from our butcher for FREE and render it down to use as a cooking and frying oil. So, it is potentially an extremely economical oil.
Avocado Oil- It has a high smoke point of 520°F (270°C) and has a relatively neutral flavor with a slightly nutty taste.
Coconut Oil- It is known for its unique composition of fatty acids, particularly a high concentration of saturated fats. It has a high smoke point, typically around 400 degrees F. Coconut oil can have a distinct flavor, but for savory recipes like this one, I find it compliments the overall flavor well.
Ghee- Ghee has a rich, nutty flavor and a high smoke point of around 450 degrees F. It’s a source of fat-soluble vitamins like A, E, and D, which are essential for various bodily functions. If you make your own, it becomes a cheaper option than in the store.
The best news is that you can save your frying oil after use! If you take the time to filter your used oil, it will be good to reuse. Use a coffee filter-lined funnel to filter your oil into a glass jar. Alternatively, you can use a funnel with a built-in strainer like this. We keep our used oil in jars in the fridge for use in whatever kitchen meals we’re cooking up.
Supplies
Deep Skillet or Dutch Oven
Slotted Spoon or Spider Strainer
Candy Thermometer or Instant-Read Thermometer
Paper Towels
Choosing Your Potatoes
When choosing your potatoes for frying, you want to stick to those with a higher starch content and lower moisture content like classic russet potatoes, Idaho potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes have a slightly lower starch content, but can still make a good potato chip.
Choose fresh, firm potatoes without signs of sprouting for the best results.
How To Make Potato Chips
Slice. Peel your potatoes and use a mandoline to slice them very thinly. Either the lowest or second lowest setting will do the job. This will leave your potato slices between 1/8 in and 1/16 in thick. You can slice them using a sharp knife, but it will make the job much more difficult and inconsistent.
If you don’t own a mandoline, I highly suggest the purchase. It makes things like homemade potato chips and thinly sliced veggies so much easier.
Soak. You’ll want to soak your sliced potatoes in an ice water bath for at least 30 minutes to help remove starches and seal up the cell walls. This will ensure that your potato chips crisp up well in the frying oil and keep them from sticking to each other.
Heat oil. Heat your oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven until it reaches a temperature of 360 degrees F. You can use an instant-read thermometer or a clip-on candy thermometer to test your temperature.
Dry. Meanwhile, rinse and drain your potatoes. Lay them out in a single layer on an absorbent towel and pat them dry with another cloth or paper towels. Place your dried potatoes in a bowl.
Fry. Using a slotted or spider spoon, add a small batch of potatoes to your pot of heated oil. Cook them for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Use your slotted or spider spoon to remove the potato chips and place them on a towel-lined baking tray in a single layer to drain the excess oil. Make sure you allow your oil to return to 360 degrees F before continuing with the next batch.
Salt. Immediately after spreading the potato chips onto the paper towels, sprinkle them with salt or other seasonings. Enjoy them once they’ve cooled to the touch or allow them to cool completely before storing.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
It’s a matter of preference, really. Leaving the skins on can add texture and flavor, but for a smoother texture, peel your potatoes.
You can, but I find the frying method superior. Simply toss the dried, thinly sliced potatoes with a little oil and seasoning. Then bake in a single layer on a baking sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy.
Soaking the potatoes in cold water helps to remove the starch for a crispy potato. Also, make sure you’ve blotted the sliced potatoes well as extra moisture can impede their crispiness.
Feel free to experiment beyond the classic potato chip with seasonings such as garlic powder, paprika, or your own BBQ spice mix.
More From Scratch Recipes
Making foods from scratch is a huge way we save money and eat healthier in our home.
Potato Chips
Equipment
- deep skillet or dutch oven
- slotted spoon or spider strainer
- mandoline slicer
- candy or instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
- 3 lb russet potatoes about 4
- 4 c beef tallow or other oil
- salt
Instructions
- Peel your potatoes and use a mandoline to slice them very thinly. Either the lowest or second lowest setting will do the job. This will leave your potato slices between 1/8 in and 1/16 in thick.
- Soak your sliced potatoes in an ice water bath for at least 30 minutes to help remove starches and seal up the cell walls.
- Heat your oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven until it reaches a temperature of 360 ℉.
- Meanwhile, rinse and drain your potatoes. Lay them out in a single layer on an absorbent towel and pat them dry with another cloth or paper towels. Place your dried potatoes in a bowl.
- Using a slotted or spider spoon, add a small batch of potatoes to your pot of heated oil. Cook them for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
- Use your slotted or spider spoon to remove the potato chips and place them on a paper towel-lined baking tray in a single layer to drain the excess oil. Make sure you allow your oil to return to 360 ℉ before continuing with the next batch.
- Immediately after spreading a batch of potato chips onto the paper towels, sprinkle them with salt or other seasonings. Enjoy them once they’ve cooled to the touch or allow them to cool completely before storing.
Notes
- The key to storage is to reduce additional moisture. Store them in an airtight container. We place ours in vacuum-sealed jars.
- Feel free to try out other spices or seasonings such as garlic, paprika, or a homemade BBQ mix.
- If you don’t have a mandoline, you can use a sharp knife. But, the slices will be more challenging to get the same “thin” thickness.
- For info on baking instead of frying, see our FAQs section.
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